Melancholic Symphony
by BohemianPrince
Summary: It's Tales of Symphonia told from an entirely new perspective. Sheena and Colette are best friends? Lloyd and Genis just met? Haruhi Suzumiya is in this story? Read this tale for a refreshing counterpart to the original legend.
1. Prologue

Am I normal? Honestly, what kind of question is that? What is "normal," anyway? Shut up, I know what it means, I'm just being philanthropical! Then again, I guess if somebody actually did ask me such a dumb question, I'd probably answer "Yes, of course I'm normal." I mean, what other response is there to that kind of question? If I were to say "no" they'd think I was some crazy psycho killer or something, right? Besides, I figure I'm a pretty normal guy anyway. Sure, I was raised by a dwarf, but other than that, there's nothing strange about me, right?

That's what I always thought anyway, but most people in the village didn't seem to agree. In school I was always the odd man out, even in stuff I was good at, like P.E. and Art. And on top of that, I was horrible at everything else.

I started to wonder why I was so different. Was it simply because I wasn't from the village? Or because my father was a dwarf? Maybe people thought I was weird because I lived in the forest and had to walk to school everyday. Or maybe it was because I thought up a bunch of weird ideas? That had to be it.

I was often scolded by my teacher, Raine, and my father, Dirk, for telling my classmates weird stories. There was some other stuff I did that got me in trouble, too (like skipping class, burning required reading, etc.), but that's not really related. Anyway, the stories I would tell my classmates usually involved Exspheres, dimensional sliders, ninjas, angels, and other crazy stuff like that. Dirk called it "a bad influence" and Raine called it "annoying."

It was my dream to rush into a room full of Desians and thrash them all with my twin blades! I wanted to rescue princesses from tall towers and fly away with angel wings! And even if I couldn't be the one doing all that stuff, if someone in my class happened to have superpowers or something, I could just tag along and be their flunky sidekick! Anything would be better than the boring life I had.

Sadly, reality is surprisingly cruel. No matter how hard I trained, I couldn't even slice our training post in half with a wooden sword ("It's a sword, so why won't it cut wood!?"). None of my classmates turned out to be angels or anything, even though I was sure at least one of them would be. I didn't even find anything special at the Martel Temple when I snuck in there instead of going to class.

So by the time I turned sixteen, I had trained myself to just forget about the Exspheres, dimensional sliders, ninjas, angels, and whatnot. After all, here in Sylvarant most of that stuff doesn't even exist! And even the stuff that does won't trigger some amazing supernatural event.

So from then on, I could definitely call myself a "normal" sixteen-year-old boy, no matter what standards you're using to judge that. Well, that is, I _was_ normal. But that was before I met Haruhi Suzumiya.


	2. Chapter 1: Lloyd's School Daze

It's customary in Iselia for students to end their schooling once they reach the age of sixteen. And for me, that meant no more long hikes through the forest just to reach school, which wasn't all that interesting anyway. So you can imagine how angry I was when Dirk told me that he had enrolled me in additional classes.

"Lloyd, I'm enrollin' yeh in additional classes."

What!?

"I said, I'm enrollin' yeh in additional classes. 'Ave yeh got sumthin' in yeh'r ear, boy?"

I heard you just fine. I've just got a tiny little problem with these "additional classes"…

"You expect me to go all the way through that stupid forest every day…again? When I don't even have to since I'm sixteen!?"

"Yeah."

A one-word reply? How the hell do I respond to that!?

"Look, just because yeh'r sixteen and all, that doesn't mean you 'ave ter stop learnin'."

"But I don't need anything extra! I've already gone through school once!"

"Yeh won't be learnin' anythin' extra. Yeh've got ter re-do last year!"

"What!? There's no way I'm—"

"Lloyd, are yeh forgettin' Dwarven Vow #893?"

"That's…'No pain no gain,' right?"

"No, tha's Dwarven Vow #894, but tha' works, too."

And since there was no way I could win in an argument against Dad once he brings up the Dwarven Vows, all I could do was grumpily stomp outside to feed Noishe.

A few days later, I suddenly wished I had fought with him a little more. During the break between terms, a group of Desians had apparently set up a Human Ranch in the middle of the forest, right in the middle of my usual path to the village. The only possible pathway to the village now was a huge monster-infested slope. It's not really dangerous since I've got my Exsphere, but it sure as hell is annoying. Whenever I thought about how I would have to climb up and down that stupid hill all year long, battling the same wimpy monsters over and over again, I felt like punching somebody.

That was probably why I looked so pissed off during the whole introduction ceremony thing. That, and the fact that I was being forced into another year of school just for failing a couple of tests. All the other kids looked positively delighted about their soon-to-be-had learning experience. I guess they haven't met Raine yet.

After the mayor finished his annoying speech (which I didn't bother listening to), all of the students were apparently supposed to go to their homeroom class. But since there's only one room in the whole building, we all stayed where we were while the mayor pompously made his exit. And now we're in homeroom…and why am I suddenly feeling sleepy?

Raine moved to the front of the classroom and wrote her name on the board: Raine Sage. She then turned to face us with her trademark I-know-something-you-don't-know smile and started rambling about something or another. I wasn't paying attention, nor did I plan to. It was pretty much just her usual babble about ruins and stuff.

Just as I was beginning to count the number of tiles on the ceiling, Raine blurted out:

"Okay, class! Time for introductions!"

A few people groaned. I didn't really see what was so bad about just introducing yourself. I mean, I'd rather do that than one of Raine's crazy homework assignments.

"You there! You go first."

Raine had already started the chain. One by one, everybody on the leftmost side of the class started talking about themselves. Raine made them stand up, announce their name, some hobbies of theirs, or related things. Some people mumbled through their intros, and others tried to make up for how boring they were by cracking lame jokes. Then again, there were one or two interesting ones.

"I'm Genis Sage, and I'm really excited to be here! Ahm…my hobbies are cooking and reading, and Raine is my sister!"

The kid said the last part in such a fast, high-pitched voice that it sounded more like "Ransmesster." But I heard him loud and clear. I felt sorry for him. Raine probably forced him to make an intro like that. She must want him to set an example for the rest of the class or something. I mean, honestly, cooking I can understand, but reading? Come on.

"My name is Colette! Ah, wait, no, I mean, Colette _Brunel_. Umm, my father is Frank Brunel, I really like dogs, my favorite color is yellow, and…yeah. That's all. Sorry."

The perky girl looked like she had chosen not to say something she had on her mind. Or was I the only one who noticed this?

A few intros later, Raine stopped next to a girl in unusual clothing. Raine scrutinized her intensely.

"Young lady, how old are you?"

She certainly didn't look like she was within the twelve-to-fifteen age category for this session.

"Ah, that…" the girl said nervously, "I'm seventeen."

Seventeen? Wow, I didn't think anyone would have to repeat their schooling twice! No, wait! That could be me in a year or two! But seventeen is way too old for this kind of thing! Am I doomed to rot in this schoolhouse forever!?

"I see." Raine's expression turned very solemn. "Please give us your introduction."

"Okay then." She took a deep breath. "I'm Sheena Fujibayashi. I'm a Guar — erm — I, ah…I mean, my hobbies are…cards and…and…well, um, I guess that's all."

Raine shot Sheena Fujibayashi a look that suggested the girl was an undercover agent or something. Don't be so insensitive, Raine. It's your fault she didn't give a proper introduction. After all, if the entire class knew that I'd repeated the grade even once, I doubt that it would be too easy to be straightforward during the intro. In my opinion, the mysteriously dressed seventeen-year-old did pretty well considering the circumstances.

After a couple more intros, it was finally my turn. I tried not to draw too much attention to myself, since the mention of Dirk can trigger some awkward conversations. So I just said…

"I'm Lloyd Irving, and I live with my dad in the forest just outside the village. I have a green dog named Noishe and I like to practice swordsmanship with my two wooden swords. I don't like tomatoes."

There, I think that was a pretty well-done introduction! Not too weird-sounding, right? So…why is everyone looking at me so curiously? Dammit, I screwed up again!

I shouldn't have worried, though, because the next intro was ten times weirder than mine could ever have been.

"My name is Haruhi Suzumiya. I moved here from Asgard."

Raine's ears perked up at that.

"I have no interest in ordinary humans. If any of you are dimensional sliders, ninjas, angels, or are familiar with Exspheres, please come see me at once."

What did she just say!? I turned around to see who this girl was.

She had short black hair, and the look on her face challenged the class to contradict her insane intro. Her seriousness and determination shone through her glinting eyes and long eyebrows. Her small mouth was tightly shut.

Haruhi scanned the class slowly, stopped to scowl down at me (probably because I had my mouth wide open), and then sat down without even a smile.

Are you joking?

Nobody else really knew how to react either, so Raine just moved on to the next student.

And that is how Haruhi Suzumiya was introduced to the world of Sylvarant.

I really wish she hadn't picked our school, of all places!

After that crazy start, Haruhi seemed pretty normal for the rest of the day, and not much happened. There was a lesson, something about Desians and Seals or something…wait, that can't be right, because don't seals live in the ocean? Heh, even I know that!

The next day, though, had cataclysmic results. If only I had known then what I do now! That day, I did something incredibly stupid. I unknowingly shoved myself off a cliff into the spiraling swirl of craziness that is Haruhi Suzumiya. Will someone please beat some sense into me? I'm not looking at you, Raine.

I made a stab at conversation with Haruhi. I'll let you judge how it went.

"Hey."

Of course, I started with the incident from the day before.

"That stuff you said yesterday, how much of it did you actually mean?"

The girl crossed her arms and frowned in my general direction.

"What 'stuff I said yesterday?'"

"The stuff about the Exspheres."

"Do you have an Exsphere?"

How did she find out!?

"What!? Uh…no! N-no! I…"

"If you don't, then what do you want from me?"

"N-nothing!"

"Then don't talk. You're wasting my time."

What did I do wrong!? She was so cold; all I could do was mutter "sorry" and turn around. She's almost as scary as Raine is!

I wasn't the only one who tried to talk to Haruhi that day. Several other people tried as well, but none were more successful than I had been. Most of them were girls who just wanted to help her out, which is a nice gesture, but it was just wasted on Haruhi.

"Hi there!"

"…"

"So…how are you?"

"…"

"Umm…do you…have any pets?"

"No."

"Oh…is that so…well…do you like dogs?"

"Who cares?"

"Oh…well…um…I like dogs. I have a bunch of them at home. One of them, his name is—"

"Get lost. You're annoying."

"Oh…I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone…sorry."

Well, that's how they usually went.

Why does Haruhi always have to be so mean to them? They're just trying to be nice! Don't worry, Colette, you didn't do anything wrong, so you don't need to apologize. Haruhi should be apologizing to you, not the other way around.

After several lessons (most of which I slept through), Raine finally released her prisoners for their lunch break. After retrieving my lunch from the entryway, I stood in the doorway aimlessly searching for empty seats where I could eat alone. There weren't any. Thankfully, I was saved by Raine's little brother, who seemed to have a similar problem.

"Hi! I'm Genis. Nice to meet you!"

I shook his hand and greeted him friendlily. Apparently he knew more about the schoolhouse than I could ever have guessed, and so he easily found a hidden spot where we could eat our lunches in peace.

"Hey, thanks, Genis."

"No problem!" The boy grinned.

"How did you know about this place, anyway?"

"I'm pretty good at finding things like this! Raine lets me explore the schoolhouse every now and then, so I know all sorts of places I doubt Raine even knows about!"

I wondered how many secret places there could be in a one-room schoolhouse.

"Wait, you mean Raine won't be able find us here?"

"I don't know. Maybe not." He then looked worried. "Don't come in here to skip class or anything, okay? If you did, I'd get in trouble, too."

That kind of unfair punishment does sort of seem like Raine's style.

"Okay, fine, I won't do it, then."

There was silence as Genis munched on his sandwich.

"So you tried talking to that Haruhi girl, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I wonder what's up with her? She seems kinda weird."

"And a little bit mean, too."

A third voice suddenly joined the conversation:

"You two don't know the half of it."

I whirled around to search for the source of the voice. Before me was an unshaven man in a tattered blazer and a red tie. What kind of getup is that?

"Food…please…"

I immediately handed him my bowl, which he gratefully accepted.

"Thank you." Then, upon inspecting the bowl's contents, "What is this?"

"Dwarven Potluck Surprise!" I confidently replied, and then cheerily explained the detailed process of making such a delicacy, much to the man's puzzlement.

Genis butted in halfway through.

"Here, take one of my sandwiches. They're edible."

"Thank you!"

The frazzled man seized the sandwich and, with slight hesitation, chomped down on it. His eyes began to glow as he devoured it, and Genis supplied him with a fresh one when he was finished. Once the man had eaten his fill (for it seemed that Genis had an infinite supply of sandwich materials), he settled down.

"I'm sorry to impress upon you. I've been hiding out in this village for three years."

I was amazed.

"Three years!?"

"Wow, that's a really long time for a human," Genis remarked. For a human? I shot him a puzzled look. "Oh, sorry. I'm an elf."

Whoa! How can you just say that so casually? That's amazing!

"Not really. It's just what I am. Anyway," said Genis, turning back to the subject at hand, "Why have you been hiding out in Iselia? Are you hiding from Desians?"

"Desians? What are those?"

I took this one. "Desians are half-elves who kidnap humans and work them like slaves in places called Human Ranches. It's disgusting."

Genis winced as I said this.

"I see…I guess she must've thought that up. Pretty imaginative for one of her ideas, though. Looks like she's done it again." He sighed heavily.

"Who's done what again?" Genis asked of the man.

"Haruhi."

"That weird girl who talked about the Exspheres and ninjas and stuff?"

"Oh, so it's Exspheres and ninjas now? In my day it was aliens, time travelers, and espers. It's good to know she's staying trendy. Staying consistent isn't really her style. After all, I'd hate for her to get bored."

"What are you talking about?"

"Who are you?"

Genis and I asked different questions at the exact same time. The man answered neither.

"Look, take my advice, and stay away from Haruhi Suzumiya. Unless you want to end up like me." He indicated the huge bags under his eyes. "I haven't slept in days. Ever since she came here, I've been going insane from fear. If she finds me…if she recognizes me…I don't even want to think about what will happen." The man shuddered violently.

"Are you sure you're talking about Haruhi Suzumiya?" I asked, "Because she's just a girl. She couldn't possibly—"

"That's what I thought! That's what I always told myself! But then _it _happened! And now I'm here!"

This guy is seriously crazy. I'd better go get Raine…

"Look, Haruhi's just in the other room, so if you come with us, you can—"

"She's here!? Haruhi Suzumiya is _HERE_!?"

"Yeah, so if you—"

"Listen to me." He suddenly sounded very calm and rational. "I don't belong here. I need to be somewhere else. I need to be back in my own world…but I can't go there, because there is here, and that's all because of Haruhi."

"What are you talking about?"

Apparently Genis halfway understood what the lunatic was talking about.

"So you're saying…you're from a different world, and Haruhi accidentally brought you here…or something?"

"Not quite. This world and my world are one in the same. However, this world is not my world. I am from a different world…argh, I can't explain it! If Koizumi were here, he…no! That doesn't matter anymore. Koizumi doesn't exist anymore, after all. I'm the only one left! Hahaha! No more maid costumes from Miss Asahina! No more Nagato silently reading in the corner! Just me! _Me!_ The normal one! Hahahahahaha!"

Genis and I exchanged glances. Okay, this guy has definitely lost it.

"Look, uh…Mister…uh…?" Genis started, searching for the man's name.

The man said something, but his words were drowned out by a cry and a shout from outside the compartment.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's…" The man said his name again, but this time it was covered by a crash and a resounding thud from the direction of the schoolroom.

Genis seemed to have heard it somehow.

"So your name is Kyon?"

The man stared at Genis for a while and then began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Ahahaha! Kyon! KYON! He called me Kyon! Hahaha! Oh, wow! That's rich!" He suddenly became quite serious. "I am _sick _of being called that! Don't you dare call me that again or I'll—"

Two female voices came from outside the compartment.

"Hey, what's in here? Looks suspicious! I'm going in!"

"W-wait! Haruhi! Get back here!"

Kyon froze. After about ten seconds, he turned to Genis and I one last time.

"Remember: Stay away from Haruhi Suzumiya. For your own sakes."

Light suddenly flooded into the compartment. Genis and I turned to find Haruhi and the strangely dressed Sheena girl standing as silhouettes in the concealed doorway.

"What are you two doing here? Are you plotting something? What's with that soupy looking stuff? How did you eat all those sandwiches by yourselves? Hey, is that an Exsphere!?"

While ignoring Haruhi's barrage of questions, I silently noted that the insane man who apparently didn't like the name Kyon had disappeared mysteriously.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me!? I said, let me see it!"

"Huh?"

"Arrgh! Men are so hopeless! The Exsphere on your hand! I want to try it on!"

I glanced down at the hand in question and saw my shiny blue Exsphere gleaming back at me. The covering must have come off somehow. Dammit. Dirk is going to kill me.

Genis recovered his senses before I managed to. "Hey, did either of you two see a shady man pass by?" He glanced anxiously at Haruhi.

"Look, just hand over the Exsphere already! I won't break it; I just want to mess with it for a little while!"

She completely ignored Genis. What an incredibly rude girl.

"Look, uh, Haruhi," I said finally, "Exspheres are dangerous things. Applying one directly to the skin is bad for you. Even if you just put it on for a second, it could make you really sick, even kill you." If there's one thing I know about, it's Exspheres. Dirk told me all about them. "But even so, the Exsphere is useless unless you apply it directly to the skin. So if you wanted to use an Exsphere, you would need to process some inhibitor ore, and carve some charms into it to act as a mount. That's called a Key Crest. Without a Key Crest, using an Exsphere is way too dangerous."

I finished my speech. It just goes to show that when I try hard enough, I can sound smart too.

Haruhi looked impressed. For some reason, this made me feel proud of myself.

"Okay. So can you get me a Key Crest?"

"What?"

"A Key Crest, dummy! I need one if I want to use an Exsphere, right?"

In the end, I didn't have to answer her absurd question. Because at that moment, a blinding flash of white light shone in through the windows.

"That light…"

"Whoa…"

"Now…?"

"Oooh! What's that?"

Because I don't live in the village, I never remain up-to-date on Iselian holidays or special occasions. If I did, I would have known that that very day was the Day of Prophecy, and that the shining light meant that the Chosen was being summoned to receive a heavenly blessing. But since I didn't know about that at the time, all I could really do was stare and blink stupidly, trying to remember if there was supposed to be a thunderstorm that day.

"A mysterious white light shines through the windows of a suspicious schoolhouse…this is so awesome!"

Haruhi…just who is she, anyway?

"Come on, you three, let's go!"

With that, she seized Sheena by the wrist and yanked her out of the compartment.

"Hey, she said 'you three,' so that means us, too, right?" I asked Genis.

"Are you two coming or not!?" Haruhi called from somewhere outside the room.

Genis sighed and left the room after the two girls and, not wanting to be left alone in a dark compartment when I could be somewhere else, I followed.

In the classroom, everyone was in an uproar. Abandoned lunches were strewn across the room, and every last student seemed to be gossiping about the same thing…the crazy flash, of course. The dog-loving girl named Colette looked a little awkward, like she'd just won an award and hadn't prepared a speech. To further emphasize this, everyone in the room was staring at her in the exact same way…like they were expecting her to start some heroic monologue or something. What's going on here, anyway?

"What's going on here, anyway?" It wasn't me who asked the question. It was Haruhi. Her question was directed towards Sheena, but it was Genis who answered.

"Well, I think we were supposed to cover it in class today, but everyone in Iselia knows about it."

Haruhi immediately shifted her attention to Genis, as if she had only just realized he existed.

"Knows about what?"

"Today's the Day of Prophecy. It's the day that the Chosen is summoned to the Martel Cathedral to receive a holy blessing. That's what the flash meant…at least, I think that's what it meant. There's no way to really be too sure."

I still didn't understand.

"Chosen? For what? What is he 'Chosen' for?"

Much to my surprise, it was Haruhi instead of Genis who responded.

"Were you paying attention at all yesterday? You weren't just sleeping through class, were you?"

"What!? N-no! I…I just forgot…"

Haruhi sighed heavily, while Sheena chuckled.

"Fine, whatever. Like Raine said yesterday, the Chosen is here to complete the World Regeneration journey. The Chosen has to release all the Seals in Sylvarant, and then the Desians disappear. That's what they're 'Chosen' for."

"But the Desians are still here! If people keep getting 'Chosen' to get rid of them, why aren't they gone yet?"

"You _weren't_ paying attention, were you? I don't know why I even bother with you!"

You've only 'bothered with me' for a few minutes!

Haruhi turned her scowl away from me, and Genis took over the explanation.

"Like Haruhi said, the Chosen's job is to get rid of the Desians. But after a while, the Seals the previous Chosens have released start to weaken, so the Desians start trickling back into the world. And since the last Chosen failed, there are now tons of Desians here."

I think I sort of get it now.

"I had heard about the Chosen and the World Regeneration journey, but I had no idea the next one was in this village!" Haruhi had apparently forgotten her annoyance with me, and was now actively gossiping like every other student in the room.

Amidst all the commotion, Sheena looked really worried about something. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she had asked Genis a question.

"Who is the Chosen?"

It was a simple enough question, really, but Genis hesitated in answering. Could it possibly be that he doesn't know who the Chosen is? No, that's impossible. Genis is Raine's brother, so that means he pretty much knows everything about anything.

"Well…there's enough of a spotlight on her now as it is…so I don't know if I should…" He glanced at Haruhi's intense face. I could see his point. If the Chosen was already being bombarded by crazy questions about the huge flash, meeting Haruhi could kill her.

"Tell us already!" Haruhi commanded.

Genis gave in. "Okay, fine, but please don't run up to her and embarrass her or anything." Haruhi grunted in reply. Genis pointed to the dog-loving blonde girl. "She's the Chosen: Colette Brunel."

Haruhi immediately started in the direction Genis was pointing, then she seemed to remember her grunted promise not to traumatize the poor girl. So she grumpily remained with the three of us, but she never took her eyes off of Colette.

Sheena was staring at Colette, too. It was obvious that there was some sort of internal struggle going on inside her head. Seriously, what's up with this girl?

"She never told me…" Sheena mumbled, but I'm pretty sure I was the only one who heard. Haruhi was busy snapping at Genis for details about Colette's personality.

"So you're saying she doesn't like bell peppers?"

"Well, I don't think so; she always picks them out of her lunches if they're…"

"What else? Tell me! Don't withhold any information, or you'll be sorry!"

Poor Genis…I'm getting the feeling he doesn't like Haruhi very much.

I turned back to Sheena.

"Who never told you what? Are you talking about Colette?"

"Huh? Oh! Er…well, yeah." She blushed a bit. "I didn't realize I was thinking out loud."

"Do you know Colette or something?"

"Well, yeah, we've been friends for a while. I don't have any family here in the village, so she was like my little sister. We're really close…and I had no idea she was the Chosen."

"I can see why she wouldn't want to say it. I mean, if I were the Chosen, I wouldn't want to spoil a friendship by mentioning it or anything."

"Yeah, but…now I have to…and…" Sheena wasn't making any sense, so I tried changing the subject.

"So, you live alone? Where's your family?"

"Oh, they're all still in Mizuho."

"Huh? Mizuho? Isn't that something you put in soup?"

"You're thinking of miso."

"Oh. Then what's Mizuho?"

"Mizuho is where I grew up. It's…" she stopped suddenly. "Oops, uh…heh…"

She wasn't making any sense again. I was about to ask her to clarify when Raine burst into the room from her so-called "office." It was really more like a closet, but it gave her some privacy to plot cruel and unusual punishments…and eat lunch.

"Settle down, everyone!" She said that, but everyone had already hushed themselves when she entered the room. Raine has that ability. "It appears that the time for the oracle has come. I will go to the Martel Temple to check on the situation there. The rest of you need to stay here and study. Understood?" Without waiting for a reply, Raine rushed for the door.

"Ah, Professor! I'll go with you!" Colette had already started heading towards the door rapidly. She apparently didn't want to endure the awkward glances she was getting any longer than she needed to.

But Raine was as ruthless as ever. "No, Colette. If they need you, the priests will come here for you. Stay here with everyone else." The woman left without a backward glance, leaving Colette stranded in the doorway. I thought of something.

"Hey, Genis, if you're an elf, then Raine's an elf too, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, that's right."

Funny, I had never imagined elves as being quite so mean or obsessed with ruins. Genis seems more like a proper elf. He's smart, and he cares about others. Plus, I think his ears are a bit pointier than Raine's. Well, I haven't really seen Raine's ears up close or anything, but they never really seemed all that pointy to me…

"Okay, you guys, we're going!" Haruhi randomly announced.

"Huh?" Genis was confused. "Going where? Raine told us to stay here."

"Where else? To the temple, of course! Aren't you excited? This is what we're talking about!"

To be honest, I had to agree with Haruhi. This whole oracle business was pretty exciting. And checking out the temple sure as hell beats sitting in a classroom reading books. Sheena apparently shared that opinion.

"But we have to take Colette with us." she said.

"Of course! She's the one at the center of all this! This trip would be meaningless without her!"

"Look, you guys, if we go to the temple, Raine will get mad at us!" Genis protested.

"Nobody gets in trouble on the first day of school!" Haruhi proclaimed as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. She must not know Raine very well.

"Colette, you want to come with us?" Sheena called. The blonde girl nervously whirled around, but her expression lightened when she recognized Sheena. They must be really close if Colette can be convinced to so easily defy Raine's instructions.

Colette approached our group. "Umm…okay. Where are we going?"

"The temple!" Haruhi proudly declared.

Colette seemed hesitant.

"Colette," Sheena said, "You should've told me you were the Chosen! Then…" Her voice trailed off, and the seventeen-year-old's eyes were filled with panic and turmoil. There's definitely something weird going on between her and Colette. Even I can tell that much. But it doesn't look like either Genis or Haruhi have noticed anything unusual, so it must not be anything too serious.

"I'm sorry, Sheena. I just…I didn't want you to treat me any different than you normally would. I'm really sorry for lying to you."

"You didn't lie! You just…just…"

"Are you going to come along or not!?" Haruhi demanded of Colette. The girl looked startled.

"Oh…umm…"

I decided to try my hand at convincing her. "You're directly involved in all of this. Aren't you even the least bit curious about it?"

"Well…I don't know…" she turned to Sheena, "Are you curious about it?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, then I guess I'll be curious, too."

"Then it's settled!" Haruhi cheered, "So let's gooooo!"

"Wait! Raine told us to stay here and study!"

Genis, can't you see we're going to go anyway, no matter what you say?

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we just took a more hands-on approach to our studies!" Haruhi insisted.

"But…"

"You're coming too, aren't you?" I asked him.

"Well…okay, fine! I'll go!"

"Hahaha! Alright! Dwarven Vow #1: Let's all work together for a peaceful world!"

"That's right!" Haruhi exclaimed, "Now let's gooooo!"

"I hope I won't get in the way or anything…"

"Colette, you'll be fine!"

"Raine's going to kill us…"

As everyone else babbled about whatever was on their minds, I just smiled and followed behind them.

So…is this what it feels like to have friends? It's great!


End file.
